Surgery involving spinal disc space operations that require open access through an incision usually necessitate a means to hold the incision open without injury to retracted tissue while the surgeon operates on the diseased or injured portion of the spine. This retraction reduces the required size of the surgical incision, contributing to improved visualization of pathology, while decreasing surgical risk factors. In addition to this, disc space surgical procedures often require a means to stabilize and maintain intervertebral spacing via a distraction device for the disc space being operated on.
Few retractors used in disk space surgery incorporate a distraction device to maintain intervertebral spacing. Those that do, incorporate a distractor that is usually cumbersome, and bulky and often requires drilling. One example of a device of similar function is the retractor-distractor device within U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,658. Like this example, most spinal retractors for open access surgery that incorporate a distractor are typically complex, awkward, time consuming to set up, and are usually comparatively difficult work with when there is a need to quickly modify apparatus position, distraction within new position, and degree of retraction, when compared to dedicated devices.